Catalog

Retrospectroscope

" Retrospectroscope (1997) documents [Laitala's] astonishing installation work of the same name. Described as a "pre-cinematic device" whose "function is to create the illusion of movement utilizing large-format still images," The Retrospectroscope evokes a dragon's eye, the Wheel of Fortune, and the crazed proto-cinematic invention of a mad scientist of the 1880s - all at the same time. Laitala's film gives the ecstatic treatment to an already ecstasy-inducing subject, making for a five-minute experience akin to watching a sorceress wrangling lightning bolts in a dark, mystery-laden cavern." - Brecht Andersch, SFMOMA